On August 7, 1942, the Battle of Guadalcanal began and it was a turning point in World War II. I wanted to explore this area and learn more about the people, the culture and the history for this important 75th anniversary.
Where are the Solomon Islands?
The...

Smiles are the currency of Tonga.
The man with the battered boom box wore one as he swayed to a steel drum beat. Grinning at nothing in particular, one hand held the portable machine while the other slapped out a rhythm on his thigh.
“Hey prince, hey princess,”...

Brass notes hit us before the heat, rushing loudly through the opened airplane door.
“Who called out the band?” I asked my boyfriend. Polished tubas and trumpet bells glinted under the airport floodlights. Above the instruments, locals cheered and waved frantically from a second-story deck.
Smiling graciously,...

It’s 5 o’clock in the morning and I’m running through waist-high grass toward a pack of frenzied dogs. Their cacophonous barking drowns out the squeals of a wild pig, who’s preparing to pay a price for the crops he and his fellow swine have uprooted.
Sweat...